Tag: Hardware - Page 19
News This Is What a PS3 Super Slim Looks Like Without Its Clothes
Pulled to pieces
The folks over at iFixit have a bizarre fetish for consoles without their clothes – and thankfully they’re eager to share it with the world. This time their ever-busy fingers have uncovered the internals of the brand new PlayStation 3 Super Slim, which is packing some tasty technology inside. The website notes that the system...
News Sony Has "Nothing Against" a PS3 and Vita Bundle
Multiplatform
Sony’s not averse to bundling the PlayStation 3 with the Vita. Speaking with CVG, PlayStation UK managing director Fergal Gara explained that the company has "nothing against” the idea, and that, while there are currently no plans to produce it, the hardware compilation could feasibly hit store shelves as early as Christmas. He...
News We're Not Sure What to Think of This Yakuza 5 Branded PS3
Garish, perhaps?
The Yakuza franchise has a history of prompting some pretty spectacular PlayStation 3 bundles – but this latest redesign isn’t to our tastes. The custom console comes with a gold DualShock 3 controller, a copy of Yakuza 5, an 8GB USB drive, and a beach towel. Yeah, we don’t get the significance of the towel either. It'll...
News Wonderbook: Book of Spells Conjures New PS3 Bundles
A kind of magic
Wonderbook: Book of Spells is brimming with potential. The augmented reality PlayStation 3 exclusive has the opportunity to tempt both hardcore Harry Potter fanatics and casual gamers alike – assuming Sony gets its marketing department in order. It’s made the first step by announcing that newcomers in Europe will be able to...
News PlayStation Vita Gets Colourful New Models in Japan
Are you red or blue?
There might not have been a whole lot of new Vita software to instil confidence during Sony's Tokyo Game Show press conference earlier today – but at least there were a couple of fresh hardware colours announced. The striking Sapphire Blue and Cosmic Red consoles will hit Japanese store shelves on 15th November. As with...
News Sony Officially Unveils the PlayStation 3 Super Slim
Cosmetic surgery
The PlayStation 3 sure is a big fan of make overs. Speaking during its Tokyo Game Show press conference earlier today, Sony took a moment to confirm the heavily rumoured Super Slim hardware refresh. It will launch in three different flavours in Japan: 250GB and 500GB models in “Charcoal Black”, and 250GB in “Classic White”...
News Polish Promotion Points to Imminent PS3 Super Slim Reveal
See you in Tokyo
The heavily rumoured PlayStation 3 Super Slim will be officially unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show later this week, a Polish advertisement has all but confirmed. A promotion for the hardware refresh – which narrowly missed out on a GamesCom reveal last month – was spotted by TheSixthAxis on Polish website
News Chinese Vita Copycat Droid X360 is a Lawsuit Waiting to Happen
Attack of the clone
While western companies take each other to court over the tiniest little patent infraction, over in China hardware manufacturers have no such concerns; they'll happily copy a rival product right down to the design - something which is proven perfectly by the Droid X360. Looking every inch like a PlayStation Vita, this is...
News Japanese Government Investigating Overheating Vitas
Hot stuff
There are times playing WipEout 2048 when we’ve felt like we’re on fire, but that’s just because we’re exceptionally good at Zone mode. We’re pretty sure that’s not why the Japanese government has agreed to investigate the PlayStation Vita over reports of serious overheating. According to Sony, there have been 31 cases of the...
News Limited Edition PS3s Sneak onto UK Store Shelves
Blood and bandages
Sony has released a trio of limited edition PlayStation 3 colours in the UK today. The farm fresh Satin Silver, Scarlet Red and Classic White consoles are available from leading retailers right now – all three of which were previously exclusive to Japan. Each system ships with a matching DualShock 3 controller and a 320GB hard...
News Looks Like That Super Slim PS3 Is Totally Real After All
These pictures prove it
The PlayStation 3’s been on a rigorous diet. Cast your mind back to little over a week ago, and you’ll recall us posting about an American FCC listing which appeared to hint at a super slim iteration of Sony’s premium home console. Well, surprise: here it is. Bizarrely, the images popped up on the website of Anatel...
News Hori's Dead or Alive 5 Arcade Stick Pushes Our Buttons
Too hot to handle
This Hori built Dead or Alive 5 arcade stick is useful for a number of reasons. Firstly, it includes all of the buttons you’ll need to become a pro at Tecmo Koei’s upcoming PS3 brawler. Secondly, it bears the slogan “I’m a fighter” – which should come in extremely handy when you forget why you’re holding it in the...
Rumour Super Slim PlayStation 3 on the Way
Weight watchers
Sony is working on a new PlayStation 3 model, according to documents uncovered by Japanese website Pocket News. The details, filed by Sony to the Federal Communications Commission, reveal a 4000 series of the home console. We’re currently on the 3000 series by the way. Buried within the document are images of
News GAME Snags White PS3 Exclusivity in the UK
Suits you
Recovering retailer GAME has locked up exclusive rights to the white PS3 in the UK. The 320GB console will come bundled with two DualShock 3 controllers and a 90-day subscription to PlayStation Plus for a reasonable £239.99. The system's set to release on 29th June. There’s currently no word on whether the custom console will make its...
News Sony Not Ruling Out Super Slim PlayStation 3
Losing weight
All the way back in 2009, Sony announced the PlayStation 3 Slim at GamesCom in Germany. The rebranding effort helped to reverse the PS3’s fortunes, transforming the platform into the popular system we know today. Three years on, Sony has refused to rule out the possibility of another hardware revision. Speaking with Eurogamer.net,...
News Sony Announces Assassin's Creed III PS3 Hardware Bundle
Includes "special" DLC
Sony has always pushed Assassin's Creed as a PlayStation franchise, and this year's E3 was certainly no different. In addition to the Vita title announcement and a new demo of Assassin's Creed III, the platform holder announced that it will be releasing a new themed PS3 hardware bundle when the stealth adventure launches this...
News GameStop Pulls PSP Titles from 25% of North American Stores
Goodnight, sweet prince
In news that will surprise nobody, US retail giant GameStop has decided to remove PSP titles from around 25% of its stores. The move is designed to maximise “merchandising space in the smallest” outlets. Larger stores will continue to carry the brand, as will GameStop.com. With the Vita now readily available worldwide,...
News Sony Deploys Limited Edition Call of Duty PS3 Bundle
Oorah
Call of Duty is the biggest brand in gaming at the moment, and Sony’s latest limited edition PlayStation 3 hardware bundle clearly reflects that fact. Scheduled for release on 25th May in North America, the set bundles a 320GB PS3 with a copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for $299. That means you effectively get the game for free. It’s...
News PS3 Hardware Sales Down, Software Sales Up
Swings and roundabouts
Sony sold 13.9 million PS3 consoles in the last financial year, down from 14.3 million in the previous year. Other PlayStation platforms dropped too: PSP dropped from 8m consoles to 6.8m, and PS2 from 6.4m to 4.1m. Sony has not released any sales figures for PS Vita yet, a little worrying considering it launched in Japan late...
News Crystal White Vita Announced for Japan
Tone it down
Sony's announced the first colour variations for PS Vita, pushing a Crystal White console out to Japan on 28th June. The white machine will launch in WiFi only and 3G/WiFi versions for the standard price of ¥24,980/¥29,980 respectively. There'll be matching white ear phones sold separately for the colour coordinated gamer. Then in...
News Sony Sneakily Announces Red PS3 for the UK
Captain scarlet
If the basic black exterior of the current PS3 is putting you off purchasing Sony’s current console, perhaps you might be tempted by the curvaceous red system instead. The former Japan exclusive has started popping up on UK websites this afternoon, with Amazon revealing a 27th April release date and
Rumour Early Orbis Tech Specs Leaked
IGN strikes again
If PlayStation 4 really is codenamed Orbis, here's an idea of what Sony might be packing inside the hardware. IGN claims the machine uses AMD chips based on the A8-3859 APU (accelerated processing unit) and Radeon HD 7670 GPU. The APU harbours an on-board quad-core processor with integrated graphics chip; teaming this up with the...
News Sony Bringing New PSP Colour to Japan
Life in the old dog, yet
The PlayStation Portable is still hot in Japan (regularly outselling Sony’s beefy new hardware, the PS Vita, on a weekly basis). And so Sony has decided to capitalise on its former handheld’s continued longevity by announcing a new colour for its home region. Dubbed Sky Blue/Marine Blue, the two-tone PSP certainly looks...
News PS Plus Minis Don't Work on PlayStation Vita
OMG-Z
PlayStation Minis obtained for free through Sony’s premium subscription service, PlayStation Plus, do not work on the PS Vita. Members of the official PlayStation forum discovered the unfortunate bug and raised their concerns online. Sony's said it is "aware of the issue, and will resolve it as quickly as possible". To clarify:...
News Sony Bringing Bigger Vita Memory Cards to the UK
Guessed wrong
Sony is working hard to bring bigger PS Vita memory cards into the UK. The biggest stick available alongside yesterday’s launch was the 16GB, but SCE UK gaffer Fergal Gara has said that the company completely misjudged demand. He told Eurogamer: We probably haven’t got big enough memory cards introduced for the UK market. We’ve...
News Sony Looking to Bring the Biggest Brands to PS Vita
Big guns
PlayStation Vita’s launch offering is already packed with big names: there’s Uncharted, WipEout, FIFA and many more. But Sony’s not resting on its laurels just yet, as new SCEA marketing executive, Guy Longworth, has explained that the platform holder wants the snazzy new system to play host to as many of gaming's biggest brands as...
News Sony Patents Kinect-like PlayStation Eye Technology
You are the controller
We suspected that the next version of the PlayStation Eye camera would come with Kinect-like depth tracking abilities, and it looks like we might have been right. A patent filed by Eye Toy and PlayStation Move visionary Dr. Richard Marks has hinted that Sony is toying with controller less techno
News Take One Last Tour of the PlayStation Vita
Not long now
The PlayStation Vita unofficially launches in North America this week. We say “unofficially” because, well, even though the so-called First Edition Bundle is sanctioned by platform holder Sony, the system’s launch date will officially go down in history as February 22nd. It’s all a bit confusing, but the point is, Sony's eagerly...
News Sony Patented a Wii U Style Controller Too
Great minds think alike
It turns out Nintendo isn’t the only company intent on merging handheld devices with home console experiences. A patent uncovered by Games Beat, shows Sony had a similar concept in mind way back in 2010. The patent – aw
News PlayStation Vita Titles Will Be Cheaper When Downloaded
Cheaper than chips
Sony's not been particularly efficient at communicating specific PlayStation Vita information. We're still waiting for full details on the 3G system's data plan here in Europe. With three weeks to go, the platform holder's definitely cutting things fine. But one question that's been asking more than most is whether downloadable PS...
News Amazon UK Upgrading PlayStation Vita Orders
Announces new bundle too
If you thought North America was getting all the luck with regards to PlayStation Vita bundles, then you might like to take a note of an email we just received from Amazon.co.uk this morning. According to the message, the online retailer is upgrading all PlayStation Vita pre-orders to include a free 8GB memory card and a...
News Sony Sends A PlayStation Vita To Every GAME And GameStation Store In The UK
Sometimes all it takes to sell a great product is to put it in front of people
Sony seems to understand that: announcing that it will be supplying all 600 GAME and GameStation retail stores across the UK with spangly new PlayStation Vita units to display. The top 150 stores will also net a dedicated Interactive Display Unit. Meanwhile, store...
News Amazon Bundles Free Data, 8GB Memory Card And Game With Every 3G PS Vita Purchase [Updated]
We told you it was going to happen didn't we? The PS Vita may look expensive when you glare angrily at its RRP, but it was only a matter of time before retailers started to concoct their own bundles
First in line: Amazon. The online retailer's tempting PlayStation Vita plans see any existing or future orders of the $300 3G handheld ship with a...
News Japanese Sales Charts: PlayStation Vita Dips To 15k As Hardware Sales Plunge
The PlayStation Vita hit its lowest point yet in this week's Japanese sales update -- though hardware was down all around
The newly released Sony portable sold just 15k units, while the Nintendo 3DS managed a whopping 80k. It was a disappointing week for all non-3DS hardware though, with the PSP and PS3 both managing just 21k and 17k respectively...
News The Original PlayStation Vita Design Was Thinner, Says Designer
The PlayStation Vita is a seriously ergonomic device: it might just be the most comfortable handheld we've ever had the pleasure of using
But, as with all electronics, the system's final design wasn't its only design. In an interview with CVG, Takashi Sogabe — head of Sonys Corporate Design Centre and the man behind the original Walkman — has...
News Imagine A World Where Remote Play Was Awesome
Remote Play's always felt like a brilliant, brilliant idea completely squandered by a horrible lack of support
We remember testing out the PS3-to-PSP streaming application back in the heady days of '08, and being amazed that we could play PixelJunk Eden in the back garden (just about). But once the initial novelty wore off, we started to wonder why...
News Cost Of PlayStation Vita's Raw Materials Estimated At $159
The smart folks at UBM TechInsights have ripped apart a 3G PlayStation Vita, estimating the cost of the system's raw materials at around $159 (~£103)
The experts reckon that the system's screen and touch interfaces are its most expensive components, costing around $50 to purchase. Meanwhile, essential parts such as the battery, camera and GPS come...
Review PlayStation Vita Hardware
The good, the bad and the proprietary
When Sony's PSP successor was announced last year, it was met with a lot of excitement and anticipation. This fervour was readily apparent at last year's E3 trade show in Los Angeles with extremely lengthy lines to play the system at Sony's booth. While we were fortunate enough to get some hands-on time with the...
News Japanese Sales Charts: New Year Lull Brings PlayStation Vita Sales Below 20,000
Before we start rushing for the doomed boat, it's worth pointing out that, while PlayStation Vita's Japanese sales are disappointing once again this week, they are not entirely out of whack with the other trends in the market
Still, the recently released system suffered an almighty dip, selling approximately 50% of last week's tally, a number which...
News PlayStation Vita Grabs Updated Firmware, Changes Very Little
Despite what Shuhei Yoshida said about the PlayStation Vita boasting a "less obtrusive" firmware system -- the handheld's already received its third update since launching less than a month ago in Japan
The latest version — v1.52 if you're keeping track — supposedly fixes a bug restricting 3G units from detecting inserted SIM cards. Fantastic...
News File Sizes For PlayStation Vita Launch Titles Revealed
If you're planning on purchasing all of your PlayStation Vita content exclusively from the PlayStation Store, then you better start saving your pennies
A post on TheSixthAxis has revealed the file sizes for a number of Sony's first-party launch titles, and the results stretch as far as 3.3GB. Naturally, that high number is only applicable to...
News Sony Not Concerned By Japanese PlayStation Vita Sales
It's a well publicised fact that the PlayStation Vita's sales haven't been particularly spectacular in Japan
But SCEA's director of hardware marketing, John Koller, insists that the company is not concerned by the numbers. If you look at the word-of-mouth factor, its really strong because people are bringing it home and really enjoying it, he...
News Sony Encouraged By Nintendo 3DS' Resurgence
While obviously fierce competitors, Nintendo and Sony are also in the same boat
Both are the target of the mainstream media, who seem keen to push an agenda against the dedicated portable gaming platform. As such, it's unsurprising to hear SCEE executive, Jim Ryan, comment on the Nintendo 3DS' sales resurgence in a positive manner. One of the...
Rumour Sony Cuts PlayStation Vita Shipment By 50% In France
In news that will almost certainly bring out the mainstream media's pitchforks, Sony has supposedly cut the PlayStation Vita's shipment by 50% in France
The cull is probably designed to better service other regions, but we daresay it will bring out the the "doomed" brigade in the coming days. For what it's worth, the unconfirmed report...
News Japanese Sales Charts: PlayStation Vita Holds Steady As 3DS Dominates
At this point in time, there's no chance of any system catching up to the Nintendo 3DS in Japan, so there's no point in even discussing it
Nintendo might have seemed "doomed" after a disappointing 3DS launch last year, but it's now conjured up a triple threat of unstoppable software releases. There's nothing anyone can do. As a result, a...
News CES 2012: Sony Sells A Whopping 6.5 Million PlayStation Consoles Over Christmas
More than 6
5 million PlayStation branded consoles were sold during the Christmas period (November 18th to December 31st, 2011), Sony has announced. Of those sales, more than 500k units were contributed by the PlayStation Vita, following its Japanese launch on December 17th. But it was the PlayStation 3 that was the big seller — moving a whopping...
News CES 2012: PlayStation Vita Sells 500,000 Units, Getting Netflix At Launch
Speaking during Sony's CES 2012 press conference last night, not-quite-president Kaz Hirai revealed that the PlayStation Vita has sold a respectable 500,000 units since its launch in Japan just 20 days ago
The numbers look great when stacked up like that, but it's hard to forget that the system sold just over half of that tally within its opening...
The 3G version of the PlayStation Vita will not require a contract in North America
The service will come in two flavours, with $15 bagging you 250MB of data and $25 netting you 2GB. Unsurprisingly, the prices are near identical to those offered for the iPad in the US. Players will be able to purchase data on a month-to-month basis, making the 3G...
News Sony's Planning Its Biggest Marketing Campaign Ever For PlayStation Vita's UK Launch
It's still a little bit too early to start wondering where the PlayStation Vita billboards and TV commercials are; it's only January after all
The good news is that the marketing campaign is coming, and, in the UK at least, Sony's aiming big. Speaking with MCV, SCE UK's marketing manager, Mark Bowles, revealed that the platform holder is planning...
Rumour PlayStation 4 Already 'More Powerful' Than Next XBOX
Two PlayStation 4 rumours in a single day? The next generation must be nearing
PSM3 magazine's the latest publication to jump on the bandwagon. The magazine speculates that early signs already point to Sony's next console being "quite a bit more powerful" than the next XBOX, though it's unclear of the publication's sources for the claim...